Major Taylor Community Outreach
Parrish Street LegacyBike, Run, Walk
Join the team bringing the inaugural year to life.
A multi-day heritage athletic festival on Durham's historic Black Wall Street, targeted for fall 2027. Eleven chair opportunities are available for the inaugural year, along with committee service and event weekend volunteering.
Explore the rolesThe event
What we are building
Four blocks of Parrish Street became known across the country as Black Wall Street, home to North Carolina Mutual and to Mechanics and Farmers Bank, which still operates there today. We are building a weekend that takes people through it on foot and on two wheels.
Cycling, running, and walking
Routes that start and finish on Parrish Street and carry participants through Durham.
A cultural festival
Music, food, and programming open to everyone, not only to registered participants.
A vendor market
Black-owned businesses selling on the same blocks where Black business in this country was built.
The Legacy Dinner
An evening honoring the people who built this street and the people carrying it forward.
Why it matters
It is not a race that happens to take place in Durham.It is a celebration of Durham's Black Wall Street that happens to include a race.
Building that takes more than a small team. It takes people who care about how Durham's story gets told, what the weekend feels like for the people who come, and what the event leaves behind.
Participation
Three ways to get involved
Bringing this weekend to life will take people who believe it should exist and are willing to lend their time, talent, and experience to build it. There are several ways to serve, from helping lead the planning over the next year to joining a committee or volunteering during event weekend.
Leadership and committee service during the inaugural year are volunteer commitments. Responsibility and time vary by role, and we want you to understand that clearly before deciding where you fit.
Every chair builds a committee to work alongside them, in partnership with event leadership. If you are considering a chair role, think about the skills and the people you would want around you, and encourage them to apply as committee members. You may also apply with someone as co-chairs.
Committee Chair
Leads one area of the event from planning through event weekend. Helps recruit and guides a committee, works alongside event leadership, and carries the plan through to delivery.
Expect monthly planning calls now, increasing as the event approaches, and significant availability during event weekend while your area is active.
Committee Member
Serves on a committee alongside its chair. Attends planning meetings, carries work between them, and helps deliver event weekend.
Expect planning meetings, with assignments in between.
Event Volunteer
Works shifts during event weekend, on your own or with a group that takes on a station together.
Volunteer interest is open now. Volunteer registration opens closer to the event.
Chair and committee applications open Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00 PM and close Tuesday, September 1. The planning team is confirmed by the end of September. Event volunteers can join the interest list at any time.
Benefits
How we invest in the team
People who lend their time, expertise, relationships, and energy to this event are giving something valuable. Service during the inaugural year is a volunteer commitment, and the contribution should still be recognized.
We intend to invest in the people who invest in this event, through real responsibility, professional development, visibility, access, and recognition that reflects the level of service given.
Committee chairs
- Leadership experience. You lead one area of an inaugural event, recruit the committee that works alongside you, and build a team from the ground up.
- Professional development. Access to MTCO-supported training, certification, or a conference when it directly supports your role and budget allows.
- Visibility and recognition. A published chair profile on the site and in event materials, and recognition from the stage at the Legacy Dinner.
- Professional photography. A photoshoot at a scheduled team gathering, including individual headshots and event team photography. The full resolution files are yours to keep and use.
- Race entry. A complimentary registration at any distance for your own use, and a personal discount code you may share with anyone you bring in.
- The Legacy Dinner. Two seats at a discounted rate, reserved and held for you whether or not the room sells out, plus first claim on a table of eight to ten guests before tables open to the public.
- Apparel, merchandise, and meals. Team shirt and socks provided, all merchandise at a discount for personal use, and meals at designated site visits and throughout event weekend.
- Lasting recognition. Named as a member of the inaugural leadership team in the event's permanent record, once the inaugural year is complete.
Committee members
- A direct role in how the event is built, and the chance to learn one area from the inside
- Team shirt and lanyard, the same as chairs and staff
- Meals at designated site visits and throughout event weekend
- All merchandise at a discount for personal use, and a discount code for your own registration
- Included in the team photograph taken at a scheduled team gathering
- Named in inaugural year event materials, in the program and on the site
- First consideration for chair and co-chair roles in the years that follow
Event volunteers
- Event shirt with volunteer identification, plus an event lanyard
- A meal during every shift
- Early registration access and first choice of shifts when you return
- Documented service hours on MTCO letterhead for students
- Groups who take on a station together are named at that station and receive a crew photograph. Decorating your station is welcomed and encouraged.
- First consideration for chair roles in later years for station captains and course marshal leads
Some benefits are subject to final vendor, venue, and event arrangements. Complimentary registrations are for your own use, and discount codes cannot be combined with other offers.
We want leadership to grow from within this community. As this event grows, many of its future chairs and event leaders should come from the committee members, station captains, and volunteers who help build the inaugural year.
Open roles
Eleven committee chairs
Each chair leads one part of the event from planning through event weekend, supported by a member of the event leadership team. Chairs also help recruit and build the committee that works alongside them, in partnership with event leadership. Several roles can be shared by two people, so you may apply with someone. Select any role below to see what it involves.
Course and safety
Everything that happens on the course
Cycling ChairCo-chairs welcome
What this role covers
- Design the cycling routes for 20, 40, and 62 miles, built so a century can be added in a later year
- Assess route safety, from road surface to traffic patterns, intersections, and turn complexity
- Work through the city permitting process alongside event leadership
- Coordinate police support, ride marshals, and course staffing
- Plan support and gear vehicles, including drivers, coverage areas, and mechanical assistance
- Provide cue sheets, GPS files, and route information to registered riders
- Recruit and lead the committee that works alongside you
Who this fits
Extensive riding experience in and around Durham, sound judgment about route safety, and willingness to take part in city permitting conversations.
Time commitment
Light through early planning. Route work builds once dates are set. Heaviest in the final two months and across event weekend.
Run and Walk ChairCo-chairs welcome
What this role covers
- Design the walk and run courses for the inaugural year, with longer distances added as the event grows
- Manage the course certification process
- Work through city permitting and course safety alongside event leadership
- Organize pace groups, sweep runners, and course marshals
- Select and manage the timing partner
- Design the walk experience specifically for walkers
- Build relationships with regional running organizations, including those serving Black runners
- Recruit and lead the committee that works alongside you
Who this fits
Experience organizing or working races. An understanding that first-time walkers and distance runners need different things from the same event. Familiarity with course certification.
Time commitment
Certification work begins early and continues through the design phase. Heaviest in the final two months and across event weekend.
Rest Stops and Aid Stations ChairCo-chairs recommended
What this role covers
- Plan every rest stop and aid station across all inaugural year distances
- Source and purchase supplies, and manage the budget for them
- Plan staging, transport, and delivery to locations spread across the course
- Recruit and train station captains, and coordinate groups who adopt a station
- Lead course support during the event, keeping stations stocked and riders assisted
- Recruit and lead the committee and station captains who work alongside you
Who this fits
Logistics and supply planning experience. Composure when several things need attention at once. Comfort coordinating work spread across multiple locations.
Time commitment
Light early, with sourcing and budget work through the design phase. Very heavy in the final six weeks, with significant responsibility on event day.
Safety and Medical ChairCo-chairs welcome
What this role covers
- Build the emergency action plan covering every venue and every mile of course
- Evaluate EMS providers and plan medical coverage across all distances
- Plan the medical tent, its staffing, supplies, and hours
- Ensure first aid capability at every rest stop and aid station
- Set how incidents are documented and communicated
- Review every route for safety before it goes to the city
- Recruit and lead the committee that works alongside you
Who this fits
Experience in EMS, emergency management, athletic training, clinical operations, public safety, or a related field is strongly preferred, along with experience developing response plans. Licensed medical providers deliver care on event day; this role plans and coordinates it.
Time commitment
Begins as routes take shape and continues through permitting. Moderate through design. Heavy in the final six weeks and across event weekend.
Running the event
Everything a participant touches
Registration ChairCo-chairs welcome
What this role covers
- Set up and manage registration across every distance, plus dinner tickets and add-ons
- Manage pricing tiers and discount codes on schedule
- Keep registration information organized and usable for reporting
- Communicate with participants from sign-up through race week
- Run packet pickup and race morning check-in
- Deliver results and follow up after the event
- Recruit and lead the committee that works alongside you
Who this fits
Strong attention to detail and comfort learning new software. Experience testing a process before other people use it.
Time commitment
Steady from the start. Heaviest in the final six weeks and across event weekend.
Volunteer Chair
What this role covers
- Recruit volunteers as individuals and as groups who take on a station together
- Build relationships with student organizations, congregations, corporate teams, and clubs
- Define roles and shifts across every day of the event
- Manage applications, screening, and assignments
- Create training and briefing materials
- Build a volunteer experience that brings people back the following year
- Recruit and lead the committee that works alongside you
Who this fits
Experience organizing and motivating large groups. Comfort recruiting from organizations as well as from individuals.
Time commitment
Light early. Group recruitment starts well ahead of individual recruitment. Very heavy in the final six weeks and across event weekend.
Host Hotel and Hospitality ChairCo-chairs welcome
What this role covers
- Evaluate, select, and negotiate the host hotel
- Manage the room block, including rates, inventory, cutoff dates, and attrition terms
- Build an overflow tier at more than one price point
- Connect hotel booking to the registration experience
- Plan transportation between the hotel, the start line, the festival, and the dinner
- Track hotel room nights, which show what the event brings to Durham
- Recruit and lead the committee that works alongside you
Who this fits
Contract literacy, particularly around attrition and cancellation terms. Hospitality, travel, or meeting planning experience is ideal.
Time commitment
Negotiation begins once dates are set. Steady oversight throughout. Heavy in the final six weeks.
Legacy Dinner ChairCo-chairs welcome
What this role covers
- Recommend the venue and shape the character of the evening
- Build sourcing relationships with North Carolina growers, prioritizing Black owned farms
- Select the chef and catering team and develop the menu
- Design a guest experience that balances hospitality, program quality, and ticket economics
- Plan the program, the entertainment, and the run of show
- Manage the floor plan, tables, and reservations
- Recruit and lead the committee that works alongside you
Who this fits
Strong hospitality judgment, vendor negotiation instincts, and the discipline to balance an elevated guest experience with a defined budget.
Time commitment
Venue and catering decisions come early, because the best venues book furthest out. Design and program work in the final months.
Community and heritage
Everything that connects it to Durham
Vendor Expo ChairCo-chairs welcome
What this role covers
- Recruit vendors, prioritizing Durham-area Black owned businesses
- Build the vendor pipeline through markets, festivals, and referral
- Design the application, screening, and approval process
- Curate the mix of vendors so the market feels intentional
- Manage booth fees, the site map, assignments, and load-in
- Run the market on event day from setup through breakdown
- Recruit and lead the committee that works alongside you
Who this fits
Strong relationship-building skills and an understanding of what makes vendor participation worthwhile for a small business.
Time commitment
Recruitment begins once dates are confirmed and builds steadily. Heavy in the final six weeks.
Community Partnerships Chair
What this role covers
- Build relationships with Durham congregations, neighborhood associations, and community organizations
- Develop engagement with area universities, including service learning
- Connect with running and cycling clubs across the Triangle
- Create meaningful ways for Parrish Street stakeholders and Durham communities to help shape the experience, rather than hearing about it after decisions are made
- Build local turnout for the parts of the weekend that are free and open to everyone
- Make introductions that support sponsorship, vendor recruitment, and volunteer recruitment
- Recruit and lead the committee that works alongside you
Who this fits
Established Durham relationships, or a real commitment to building them. Patience with work that does not produce immediate results, and the belief that community input should shape the event.
Time commitment
Steady and continuous from now through the event, with consistent effort over a long period rather than short bursts.
Heritage and Culture Chair
What this role covers
- Design the heritage programming that runs through the full weekend
- Build relationships with Durham's cultural institutions, archives, and community historians
- Connect with families who carry direct ties to Parrish Street and Hayti
- Capture oral history and weave storytelling through the experience
- Review public-facing content for historical accuracy
- Shape stage programming for the cultural festival
- Recruit and lead the committee that works alongside you
Who this fits
An established relationship to Durham's Black history, or a serious commitment to building one. Care for accuracy and for the people whose history this is.
Time commitment
Relationship building starts immediately and continues throughout. Programming design comes in the final months.
Dates
Key dates
Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00 PM
Chair and committee applications open
Tuesday, September 1
Chair and committee applications close
By the end of September
Leadership and committee selections communicated, and the planning team confirmed
To be announced
On-site kickoff. Required for chairs, encouraged for committee members.
Fall 2027
Event weekend. Specific dates will be announced once confirmed with the City of Durham.
Monthly planning calls follow, increasing in frequency as the event approaches.
The process
How to apply
Everyone applies through the same process and the same deadline, whether we have worked together for years or are meeting you for the first time. The application asks about the role you want, your experience, and your availability.
Every submission is reviewed by the event leadership team. Depending on the role, we may follow up with additional questions or invite you to a brief conversation before the team is finalized. Selections consider the needs of the event alongside each applicant's experience, strengths, interests, and availability.
Have a question before you apply? Email [email protected] and one of us will answer it directly.
Chair and committee applications open Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00 PM and close Tuesday, September 1. Selections are communicated by the end of September. Event volunteers can express interest at any time, and volunteer registration opens closer to the event.
Opening soon
The application opens Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00 PM.
Explore the roles above and consider where your experience, interests, and availability may fit best. If you have a question before then, email [email protected] and one of us will answer it directly.
Chair and committee applications close Tuesday, September 1. Selections communicated by the end of September.